CHANCEL MBEMBA has heightened Newcastle United’s defensive concerns ahead of Sunday’s return to Premier League action.

The DR Congo defender was forced off on the hour when his country drew 2-2 with Tunisia on Tuesday, and now Rafa Benitez faces an anxious wait to determine the extent of the problem.

Mbemba has impressed since he was introduced as a substitute in the opening game of the season against Tottenham.

Many felt he would have been one of those players to depart during the summer but he has found a new lease of life and has provided the cover for the injured Paul Dummett.

Dummett is still weeks away from a return from the hamstring injury picked up against Tottenham on that opening weekend, so Benitez could be short of options to play there when Newcastle head to Swansea's Liberty Stadium.

It will be hoped Mbemba makes a quick recovery after he is assessed on Tyneside within the next 24 hours, although Benitez will already be considering alternatives.

Centre-back Florian Lejeune’s return to fitness ahead of the trip to South Wales does at least provide Benitez with the option of asking Ciaran Clark to move over to full-back – even if he would prefer to keep the Irishman in the middle.

Benitez is just keen to get the football rolling again after the frustrations he felt during the transfer window; when he was left feeling as if he was unable to do the business he would have liked because of financial limitations.

Former Newcastle defender Jose Enrique, meanwhile, has been forced to retire.

The 31-year-old had been unable to recover from a long term knee problem which prevented him from playing as much as he would have liked during his Real Zaragoza loan last season.

Enrique told Marca in Spain: “It was supposed to be for three months and it turned into two years. I saw five doctors in England, but they didn’t find the problem. It hurts me, but so many times they told me that it was a psychological problem that I came to believe it.”

Enrique joined Newcastle in 2007 from Valencia before moving to Liverpool in a £7m deal four years later.

He was never able to hit the heights expected of him at Anfield and now his career has had to come to a premature end.